The Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act of
2013 (S. 1392) could mean an end to the drought of action on climate change in
Congress. The bipartisan legislation represents a significant step forward in
the ongoing effort to pass through Congress policy that will reduce greenhouse
gas emissions.

If passed, this bill would cut government and industrial
energy waste and help homeowners finance energy efficiency improvements, among
other energy-saving measures. One study,
published by the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE),
finds that this legislation will create up to 174,000 jobs, save consumers and
businesses up to $15.2 billion per year, and remove up to 87.6 million metric
tons of CO2 from our atmosphere by 2030.[i]

Energy inefficiency is a significant contributor to
greenhouse gas emissions and climate change, not to mention that it is an added
and unnecessary expense in homes and businesses.According to a paper by the National
Academy of Engineering, “building operations and materials manufacturing,
the ‘built environment’ is responsible for 52 percent of greenhouse gas
emissions worldwide.”Further, “energy
lost through inefficient windows represents 30 percent of a building’s heating
and cooling energy” in the United States.[ii]This bill would take some common-sense steps
toward improving energy efficiency in buildings, especially federal buildings,
and would go a long way to reducing climate-change-causing emissions and saving
money.

The bill was introduced by Democrat Jeanne Shaheen and
Republican Rob Portman and is also called the Shaheen-Portman bill. While the
bill enjoys support from both sides of the aisle in Congress, as well as
advocacy groups and among the public at large, its passage is far from
guaranteed. And dangerous, controversial amendments threaten to undermine the
spirit of cooperation and consensus that makes the bill possible. We need your
help. Please contact your Senators today and let them know that you support this
common-sense bill to invest in renewable energy.

What does the Bill
do?

The bill works at the crossroads of science, the federal
government, and private sector companies looking to invest in a thriving,
competitive economy and environmental protections that will safeguard our
country’s human and natural resources for the next generation.

Shaheen-Portman envisions achieving net-zero-energy
building by 2030, and it establishes new efficiency standards for the
development of federal building codes that will help us get there. These
criteria would then be codified in a transparent process. Once established, the
federal government will work in tandem with state and tribal governments, as
well as with the private sector, to help provide the financial support and
materials needed to see that these standards are met in new buildings and
retrofits. These standards do not only apply to the private sector – the
federal government, the largest energy user in the country, must follow them as
well.

Finally, Shaheen-Portman provides for a dynamic process
to ensure the future success of energy-efficient construction. The bill
encourages the Department of Energy to work with private sector partners to
invest in research, to develop of innovative energy technology and to share
best practices with one another.

Why We Need You
Now:

With hours to go until this breakthrough legislation
comes to the Senate floor, spoilers are preparing to undermine this step
forward on addressing climate change. Despite the bill’s popular support and
endorsement from a wide array of stakeholders, some in the Senate are eager to
see its demise. They might stall the vote or, worse yet, propose
counterproductive amendments in order to break the carefully-built nonpartisan
consensus for progress.

[i] “Economic Impacts of the
Energy Efficiency Provisions in the Energy Savings & Industrial
Competitiveness Act of 2013 and Select Amendments,” authored by Rachel Young,
Sara Hayes, Steven Nadel, Garrett Herndon, and Jim Barrett; published by the
American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy; http://aceee.org/white-paper/shaheen-portman-2013;
accessed 9/12/13.

About Me

The Presbyterian Office of Public Witness is the public policy information and advocacy office of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Its task is to advocate, and help the church to advocate, the social witness perspectives and policies of the Presbyterian General Assembly. The church has a long history of applying these biblically and theologically-based insights to issues that affect the public — maintaining a public policy ministry in the nation's capital since 1946.
Reformed theology teaches that because a sovereign God is at work in all the world, the church and Christian citizens should be concerned about public policy. In addition, Presbyterian forefather John Calvin wrote, "Civil magistry is a calling not only holy and legitimate, but by far the most sacred and honorable in human life."